A primary goal in the harvesting of hay is to dry the hay as soon as possible and remove it from direct exposure to sunlight. The hay must be dried before storage to avoid the problems of mold and spontaneous combustion. Exposing the cut hay to sunlight longer than is required to adequately dry it, however, results in unacceptable deterioration of the protein level (and therefore nutritive value) of the hay.
Typically, hay is harvested into approximately five foot swaths along the ground, and is exposed to sunlight for the initial stage of the drying process. The swaths of hay are then raked into a narrow windrow to remove most of the hay from direct contact with the moist ground. Preferably, the windrow is tedded to allow more air circulation within the windrow, thereby hastening the drying process.
It will be appreciated that both fuel consumption and time are doubled when two passes along the swath of hay are taken to first form the swath into a windrow and second ted the windrow. An apparatus that could rake a swath of hay into a windrow and ted the windrow, in a single pass along the swath of hay, would present decided advantages.